Tidey cleans up for Colts

Letchworth GCE Royals U-14 2 Royston Town Colts 3 A BRACE of fine strikes by Jack Tidey helped Colts to take all three points in an exciting and hard-fought match. Colts started brightly and Harry Noades shot just wide before Tidey's opener, a lofted shot that cleared Letchworth's defence and the keeper. The lead was shortlived as Colts failed to clear their lines and gifted the hosts a soft equaliser. Both sides then traded attacks for the remainder of the half, with Letchworth displaying some impressive individual skills and Colts also threading together some fine linking and passing moves. After the restart, a brave save by Colts' keeper Tom Monti kept the visitors on terms with Letchworth's strikers clean through on goal. Mark Harper then came close before Tidey grabbed his second in fine style, breaking down the left and unleashing a blistering shot that gave the keeper little chance. Letchworth continued to probe and some inspired defensive work from Ryan Ingrey, Richard Chapman and Ricky Williams kept their strikers at bay until a moment's hesitation gifted the hosts an easy tap-in. Letchworth piled on the pressure but Colts responded well with Tidey, Noades and Adam Jinkerson increasingly combining to good effect on the left. The visitors' efforts were rewarded when Roger Skeggs mounted a surging run from midfield and put Taylor Baker through to fire home the winner. Bishop's Stortford Swifts U-8 1 Melbourn Dynamos 8 DYNAMOS got 2006 off to a flying start with an emphatic victory. Straight from the kick-off, James Rushton's through ball found Ben Webb, who skillfully beat two players and then flicked the ball past the Swifts' keeper. Melbourn soon added a second when a powerful, goal-bound shot from Rushton was only parried by the keeper, and Sam Bedlow tapped home the rebound. Bedlow then made it three goals in five minutes, as he gathered ball on the right edge of penalty box and smashed a right-foot shot to the top right-hand corner. Swifts, having weathered the storm, began advancing forward. This led to a well-worked move through midfield, giving the Swifts' centre-forward a one-on-one with the keeper, and he struck the ball home. After the break, Dynamos restored their three-goal advantage through Bedlow, whose confident side-footed finish gave the keeper little chance and completed his hat-trick. Dynamos made it 5-1 with the best move of the match, as Bedlow playing an early ball to Rushton and his first-time strike left the keeper well beaten. Melbourn were well on top and a good run from the back by Maskell gave a chance to Webb, whose shot stuck in the mud on the line. But Alex was on hand to force ball home for his first goal of the season, and further goals from Charles Johnson and Bedlow wrapped things up. - Dynamos under-nines had only a Daniel Allison goal to show for their efforts in a 5-1 loss at St Neots. Melbourn Dyn Panthers U-10 5 Shefford Saints A 1 SHEFFORD struck first when their striker poked the ball home from close in after Melbourn failed to clear from a corner. This gave the visitors confidence and they continued to have the lion's share of possession. An early injury to Melbourn forward Patrick Hopper shook Dynamos into life and Byron Lawrence rifled the ball home to equalise with a left-foot drive from just inside the box. Melbourn looked more threatening with the first half drawing to a close and were beginning to a get a grip of the game. A fine solo effort from Reece King put Melbourn ahead with virtually the last kick of the half. The second period began with Lawrence heading home a Nathan Henry cross for number three, before King added his second after some neat work in midfield from Sam Webb and Toby Jackson opened up Shefford's tired defence. With the game nearing its end, Henry linked up with Jack Richardson on the edge of the box before crossing to Lawrence, who claimed his hat-trick with a neat finish. Melbourn Dyn Tigers U-10 3 Shefford Saints B 0 AFTER a poor start, Tigers recovered to take the points. Brennan Friel and Josh Chamberlain were introduced to the Tigers attack and this paid off when the hard-working George Birch released the impressive Friel in the area and he slotted home. Dynamos went further ahead when a Shefford defender handled in the box and Martin stepped up to dispatch an excellent penalty low to the keeper's right. Fothergill was enjoying a free role up front and notched Melbourn's third with a superb curling strike from outside the area. Royston Celtic U-10 A 2 Broadhall Youth A 0 EDWARD Brown and Ollie Sole were on target as Celtic came out on top, on Sunday. Both sides started the game well, with the visitors having plenty of possession without testing the home keeper. Celtic started to get on top with some good link-up play and created some good chances that they failed to convert. In the second half, Celtic were well on top but continued to miss chances, with Sole coming the closest with a shot that hit the bar. Any attacks from Broadhall were well dealt with by Luke Bailey and Joe Walsh and Celtic's pressure eventually paid off when a good cross was fired home by Brown. The points were wrapped up near the end when Sole deservedly got on the scoresheet with a shot into the far corner. Royston Celtic U-10 B 2 Broadhall Youth B 1 AN even game saw Celtic take the points with a late winner. The hosts started the brighter and had some good chances, with Anthony Lane being denied by some good goalkeeping. Lane eventually got the goal he deserved with a good run and finish. The second half saw the visitors come much more into the game and they equalised with a superb finish. The match was now end-to-end, with the visiting keeper making a terrific save from Lane's free-kick and, with time running out, Broadhall failed to clear and Alex Brain rifled home the winner. Royston Celtic U-14 2 Austen Arrowheads 0 CELTIC were fortunate to win against lowly Arrowheads, who showed a huge improvement from the side beaten 6-0 by Royston in a cup match just before Christmas. In a match largely dominated by Arrowheads, Celtic failed to show their pre-Christmas form and only improved once Conor Barnard had netted with a well-struck shot with 20 minutes remaining. The second goal came with 12 minutes to go - a fine solo effort from Tom Higton, who beat several players before firing home, to seal the win for Celtic. However, they must improve if they are to continue to climb the table. Royston Town Colts U-15 7 Eternit 1 MATT Gregory hit a first halt-trick as Royston comfortably defeated local rivals Eternit. Gregory's first came after 12 minutes when he broke on to a through ball in the middle of the park and drove it into the corner of the Eternit net. The visitors battled hard but could not penetrate the home side's defence. Jak Quinn, who had made his presence felt in midfield, finished the first half by seeing his lofted shot sail over the visitors' keeper and into the net to make it 4-0. Ten minutes into the second half saw Adam Markham strike the ball first time from a pass that was knitted through the visitors' defence, and increase the home sides lead. Adam Peters strong defending and effective clearing of the ball kept the visitors' reply down to a single goal. Karl Smith's brace of goals in as many minutes concluded a well-earned victory for Colts. Bishop's Stortford Swifts U-10 B 0 Baldock Town Youth Crusaders 1 CRUSADERS made the most of the poor conditions to take the Crow League points. Good passing play between Connor Doyle, Neil Blythe and George Higginson in Baldock's midfield saw a host of first-half chances created for striker Jordan Massey but the ball just would not go in. Ryan Savage came closest to scoring with a long-range effort that went just over the Swifts' bar. Winger Daniel Nicholson came on at half-time and caused Swifts continual problems with his runs down the right wing. Massey almost scored from a spectacular overhead kick as Baldock threw caution to the wind to try to find a winning goal in a game they had dominated from the kick-off. Finally, a cross from Nicholson found its way to Higginson at the back post, who scored to give Baldock a well-deserved lead. However, with a heavy pitch and illness restricting Baldock to only one substitute, Baldock started to tire and in the last five minutes Swifts started to attack. But Savage was at his best, winning tackle after tackle, while fellow Baldock defender Iain Angus was also having a great game with his close marking of a good Swifts' striker. Baldock's keeper Sam Kendle was alert enough when finally called on to make a few saves at the end.